I find Opera's behavior not ok. They should concentrate in creating a great browser experience and stop trying to hurt Microsoft. Why is Firefox so successfull? Despite Microsoft bundling IE Firefox is rising and almost everyone knows about it.
A ballot screen is just a bad idea and people who think it is a good thing, have probably forgotten that Microsoft has the copyright on Windows! They can do with it whatever they want...

We live in an age where the browser is becoming the OS and on the other hand we have Opera (and many others behind it...Google, Mozilla) complaining about IE's integration in Windows. That is ridiculous and shows that these companies do not want to invest their time in creating quality software...They prefer to put time and effort in destroying others..

As far as I am concerned, I won't be using Opera ever again and I have also stopped using Google (the big brother) and Firefox (Google's right hand). Bing is so much better as a search engine and IE8 is also very good.

Opera has its own little successes, every Nintendo DSi comes with an Opera Browser, and the DS and Wii browsers are the only options available and these are Opera.

Opera were the last company to stop charging for their browser, and have not made the right partnerships to succeed in the free browser market.

Firefox has Google and Mozilla
IE has Microsoft
Safari has Apple
Opera has ________ (the EU?)

Anyway, once Microsoft confirm that IE8 will not be available to Windows 7 E users via desktop icons or Windows Update, the EU will have no case to persue anymore, and Opera will be out in the cold and will realise they are not good enough to compete, and will remain a custom browser developer for various devices and will have to settle with that fact.

The European Commission does not exist to make someone's "dirty work" as it was implied. There are mechanisms that analyze potential unfair situations ( dominant market position abuse is the case here ).

By taking out IE from Windows, Microsoft has not solved anything. On the contrary it has created a lot of issues for users. It will not "restore browser competition on the desktop" with this move.

This is nothing more than an attempt to blackmail the European Commission and influence the opinion of Windows users in the EU. I'm sure the European Commission will take the necessary measures to protect its citizens interests in due time.

They offered a better browser than IE6, and for free. Word spread around quickly, the push for open-source software was the big thing, and devs and users embraced and supported it. I remember trying FF2 for the first time. What an awesome browser, but it was such a memory hog on my old laptop after 10 tabs were open that I moved to Opera when it became free (with advertisements ), but at least it ran like a champ on my old laptop and that was a sacrifice I was willing to make.

Now that I have a new notebook, I may jump back to FF/Chrome. Though I'm so comfortable using Opera now that I don't really see the point.

This is the sole reasons as to why I refuse to use Opera - They are a bunch of crybabies that are incapable of pushing their browser as an honest product, they'd rather go cry to mum and hope she tells off the other kids.

No, they don't. They want Microsoft to have to offer the user a list of browsers (including IE). This is even stated in the quote in the original poster, but I understand that reading is exceptionally difficult.

Here we go again. People should just give it a rest already. Last I checked MS got fined and paid money for breaking the law in the EU with regards to IE. So anything after that is up for debate. I can't see how the 2 or 3 of you on the courts side like to sidestep the fact that other browsers can and have been gaining market share all this time regardless of IE being part of windows.

Why didn't the EU ask MS to offer a list of media players last time? Why was that exact same case covering the exact same law-breaking different? Why then was WMP asked to be removed if that wouldn't restore the market?

I don't see any difference between the two cases, the only difference is software. The charges are the same and the verdict is the same. MS following the previous outcome decided not to wait for the EU to move it's slow ass since they have a product to release and just took out IE.

And ofc mozilla and Google support having a list, it's more free adertising for them. You'd be daft to think otherwise. But then, why don't other browsers give me a list of search providers after I install them like IE does now? Last time I used Opera I couldn't even change the search box from Google to something else.

Because you implied that this wasn't about what Microsoft started in the 90s because they'd already been punished for that by the US.

All I said was that it a new case and has nothing to do with the one in the 90s BECAUSE it was between MS and Netscape. Netscape had a case because MS actually did break the law because in that case it was more than just bundling. Go read your history..

No, they don't. They want Microsoft to have to offer the user a list of browsers (including IE). This is even stated in the quote in the original poster, but I understand that reading is exceptionally difficult.

Flipping a switch to simply make IE8 unavailable is not enough for Opera, ...

Kinda sounds like it to me Hdood.. Looks like its pretty difficult for you too. Since this is a quote from the original poster.